Obama media strategy includes meteorologists

May 6, 2014
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President Obama. / Charles Dharapak, AP

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

President Obama really doesn't need a weatherman to tell him which way the media winds are blowing.

He would like him to talk about climate change, however.

On the day his administration released a new report on the effects of climate change, Obama conducted eight brief interviews Tuesday with meteorologists from national and local television outlets.

"They have an important role in public education" on the climate-change issue, said presidential counselor John Podesta.

Billed by aides as "Weather from the White House," the event reflected another twist in an Obama media strategy designed to target members of an increasingly fragmented audience in a rapidly changing media landscape.

Whether it's Obama talking health care on a Web-based faux talk show called Between Two Ferns, or conducting a Twitter town hall at the White House, the goal is more or less the same: trying to reach people where they live.

"We talk to America," said one of the more prominent meteorologists who gathered at the White House, Al Roker of NBC's Today show and the Weather Channel's Wake Up With Al.

Obama, in shirtsleeves, spoke with his guests for about three minutes each in the White House Rose Garden as the temperature hit 70 degrees on a sunny day.

In his interview with Roker, Obama called climate change "a problem that is affecting Americans right now." He cited "increased flooding, greater vulnerability to drought, more severe wildfires - all these things are having an impact on Americans as we speak."

Ginger Zee of ABC's Good Morning America also interviewed Obama. So did Megan Glaros. who does weather coverage for CBS This Morning as well as WBBM-TV of Chicago, the president's hometown.

Obama also spoke with meteorologists from television stations based in New York City (Janice Huff of WNBC), Miami (John Morales of WTVJ), Seattle (Jeff Renner of KING), the San Francisco Bay Area (Bill Martin of FOX), and Columbia, S.C. (Jim Gandy of WLTX).

Throughout the day, the White House tweeted and e-mailed out various conclusions from the report on climate change and how it can create extreme weather problems.

Some Republicans mocked the president's efforts.

Before the interviews, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said that "we expect the president to talk about the weather at the White House," while ignoring the fact that many Democratic plans to battle climate change involve higher taxes and more onerous regulations.

This isn't the first time there have been a group of meteorologists at the White House. In 1997, the Clinton administration invited more than 100 forecasters to the White House to discuss global warming initiatives.

''You, just in the way you comment on the events that you cover, may have a real effect on the American people,'' Clinton told his guests back then.

Tuesday's event was a variation on another White House media tactic, inviting local television anchors to the White House for one-on-one interviews with the president. Both are designed to basically go around the national media, and reach people through their local news.

It's a fairly "low-cost strategy" in terms of time and money, said James Katz, director of the Emerging Media Studies Division at Boston University. As for television stations, Katz said, "they're always looking for interesting things to say" on local broadcasts.

In many ways, the Obama administration is building on the works of predecessors, many of whom sought to adapt to the changing media of their times.

Franklin Roosevelt became an adept radio performer during the 1930s, including speeches that became known as "fireside chats." Three decades later, John Kennedy's administration allowed live telecasts of presidential news conferences.

In recent times, President George W. Bush sought to reach the outdoors community with a 2004 gig on Fishing With Roland Martin. In 2008, Bush made a taped appearance on the game show Deal or No Deal, saluting an Iraq War veteran who was a contestant on the show.

In this case, the White House targeted the millions of people who watch weather reports - and who, in many cases, may be receptive to hearing about the climate change issue.

Julie Martin, a meteorologist with the Weather Channel who also reported from the White House on Tuesday, said she and her colleagues deal directly with the impact of climate change.

"We're always looking for ways to bring this home to viewers," she said.